Mandrill

Mandrill is distinguished by the extraordinary luster of its coloring. The symmetrically distributed red and blue hues on her face and rump are also secondary sex characteristics, as they are much less vivid in females.

The mandrill has been given by nature a veritable war mask intended to impress its potential competitors. The male shows a very bad temper and is very dangerous. He is renowned for his sudden and devastating anger.

The mandrill lives in groups and moves in groups in search of its food. The company is strictly hierarchical. Very courageous, the mandrill does not back down from any opponent. Despite its apparent heaviness, this monkey moves with surprising ease and is as agile on land as in trees, where it takes refuge in case of real danger.

The mandrill is found in southwestern Cameroon, western Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and southwestern Congo.

At PAL, find our big family of Mandrill with Rafiki and Dahia parents of many little ones including Dyellow, a male born in 2018, you will easily recognize him with his yellow beard. You can also sponsor Dyellow with the Le PAL Nature Foundation.

• 
  Habitat

  Spends most of its time on the ground, Africa (forests of Cameroon and Gabon).
• Food

  Almost exclusively vegetarian (various fruit, mushrooms, roots) Occasionally insects, molluscs or small vertebrates.

Did you know ?

The mandrill’s bad reputation is mainly due to its attitude, which has been interpreted as being deliberately insulting. It expresses itself by exhibiting its rear end with an insistence that has been deemed shocking. In reality, this behaviour is a sign of allegiance, mimicking the female as she submits to a male. One must nonetheless be wary towards this show of politeness, for when mandrills become highly agitated, they adopt this position and project their excrement over a distance covering several metres.